Luther Burden is one of the most polarized players in the 2025 draft class, and the difficulty of their evaluation is a major reason for this. He is an incredibly talented player, used in a hyper-specific role that would not directly translate to NFL. There are glows of talent, but there are many moments that also scratch your head.
Measurement
Height: 6’0 “, weight: 206, arm length: 31.25 ”, Hand: 8.5 ”
Testing (combination)
40-yard dash: 4.41, 10-yard division: 1.54
Scouting observation
The Burdon slot had more than 81% of its routes and each of the last two sessions was less than 15%. It is clear that the goal of Missouri was to obtain the ball from the burden through the path of minimal resistance, which means that she saw a tonne designed touch for almost every comprehensible manner, and for a good reason. He is a complete sadness to deal with. He has such a deep toolbox of tricks as a ball carrier. He can remember the defenders with quick legs, he is excellent in reducing contacts to maintain his balance, he will run through you, and he will run by you.
When he is not touching the designed, he shows some really promising skills as a root runner. They have excellent burst from the line of scribe, and are such a natural divider. He does not get to show it often, but Burdon also knows how to set his routes to defeat man coverage. He modifies his tempo, attacks leverage and uses his upper body to sell his brakes. He is also very expert to use his hand to maintain isolation without being late in the route. Burdon is also a very efficient pass. In particular, he tracks the football very well, and he has great body control, allowing him to make late adjustments for throwing. He is able to do almost anything that you need a receiver, he does not just show these skills constantly sufficient.
There is a large part of the plays that leaves me thinking what his assignment was also. Often there will be some combinations of strange passage vacancy, low effort and poor decision making. Burdon will run himself into coverage when he can settle in an open area, or stop running when he can easily continue his path in space. This would be particularly an issue if he continues to play almost specially in the slot. At the same time, if he plays out of what he plays in college, then how will he pay fare against press coverage? They have almost no experience of facing press coverage, so when there are equipment, they will need to learn how to apply them.
There are reports of another major issue, or uncertainty with minimal burden, their maturity and lack of work lack. I leave that stuff for NFL teams because I never met the baby, but you can definitely see its signs on her tape. He rarely, if, runs a cleautout route at a full speed. If the burden is not expecting the ball, you should not expect 100% effort. He provides nothing as an inhibitor, and usually does not appear to be interested in parts of football that does not involve them to get football. At least at least, it will be something to monitor moving forward.
To do yoga to all this, I am still uncertain what will be the best role of burden in NFL. On the surface, he profiles as a clear slot receiver, but he sees a lot of zone coverage in the slot, and does his best against the Burden man. However, if he plays more out, there may be a big learning state.
Player comparison
There are two players comparisons that inspire Burden’s paths to success very well: Brandon Iuk and Rashi Rice. AIYUK was similar to the burden as a possibility. He was billed as an elite athlete, who had a long way to go as a route runner. He is now on the best route runners in NFL when he is healthy, and is purely used as X receiver. Rice was opposite to this. A vertical X receiver in college, he is now one of the best receivers in NFL, and rarely looks at the target of below ten yards. I could see any of these players in NFL. These many ways are a big reason for success, which I am ready to bet on the burden despite some flaws.